When I experienced my first frightening episode of vertigo I was 64 (now 91). It was extremely frightening. My first thought was, "How am I going to cope with the rest of my life now that I've just retired?" Fortunately, more serious episodes did not present themselves until I moved into a retirement home six years ago. Without any warning, the room would start revolving and I would make every effort to make it to a bed or couch so that I would not fall and injure myself.
The dining room staff responded quickly when I was eating and returned me to my unit where the Wellness staff took over and stayed with me until, after taking Gravol, I fell asleep. I was later told that this was not an appropriate medicine.
The most frightening realization was that so many people are afflicted with this problem, and each one I talked to had a different remedy that seemed to work for them. I did not experience an improvement and a reduction of episodes until a physiotherapist prescribed some balance exercises that eliminated my episodes.
Somewhere along the way, I heard about Balance & Dizziness Canada. I regretted that I lived so far from Vancouver, but I relied on the information I received in the bulletins and highly recommend this organization to people to join and support. - Albert Brand, Milton, ON.
